# Immerse

I took a break from my frenetic life during the last school holidays and I took my 2 young grand children to the beach with the help of my wife. You may wonder if this was really a break but it truly was. There is always something deeply relaxing about the beach. Watching the water come in, break gently and go back out gives me great sense of the magnificence of nature and a sense of a creation spanning millions of years.

At the same time, I watched 2 energetic young boys delight in running on the beach, picking up shells, digging holes and running in the shallow water. Their faces reflected their delight and they had none of the expressions of troubled adults with the weight of the world on their shoulders. The miracle of childbirth has inspired me throughout all my working life and the untroubled innocence of youth was a joy to watch. It left me with a profound sense of the spirituality within me.

Soon the holiday was over and I returned to work. Anzac day was upon us and I read well balanced press coverage relating the deep sorrow for young lives lost and at the same time describing the futility of war. Unfortunately, the next few days saw coverage of megalomanic world leaders threatening nuclear warfare and the unthinkable carnage that would inevitably result. And then our leaders on both sides of politics declaring our support for any action deemed necessary by our major ally. My sense of peace was abruptly halted and my fear for the future of the innocent faces I had watched play on the beach was considerably heightened.

I was reminded of a line from a song from my teens, a Peter, Paul and Mary classic. (this no doubt dates me ) . “When will they ever learn?”